Google installing fast Internet service in Kansas City

The Associated Press

Google plans to begin construction Monday on its long-awaited, super-speed Internet service in Kansas City, Kan.

Kevin Lo, the Google executive heading up the project, announced the start of construction on the company's Google Fiber Blog, according to The Kansas City Star[1]. Google said it would install the fiber infrastructure first and then connect Google Fiber into homes across Kansas City.

The 1 Gbps Internet connection is expected to offer steady downloads about 100 times faster than most Americans can get in their homes with existing broadband services.

Construction to erect a network had been snagged over issues about where Google would attach its fiber-optic cables on the poles owned by the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities. The BPU is owned by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, which wrote the agreement that secured the Google Fiber project for Kansas City, Kan., beating out more than 1,000 communities vying for the service.

Google had the choice of paying the normal fees for the same access as their potential Internet service competitors or avoid the fees and take on added construction costs of operating in the electric supply space. Such an installation would have required using more specialized and highly paid linemen for the work, and likely costlier engineering work.

Google had initially expected to sign up some customers late last year and start their service early this year. With work beginning Monday, the company appears on pace for its more new schedule of starting service in some neighborhoods in the first half of this year.

Google hasn't said how much the service will cost, but it has promised competitive prices.

The company did not say where it would begin the work Monday, or which neighborhood would be connected first. Google is also working to expand the service to Kansas City, Mo.